Betting

The Packers have made it known through various reports in the last week that they intend to discuss a new contract with LaFleur after the season. The tenor of those potential discussions likely hasn’t changed much, despite outside noise after the Packers lost in all-too-familiar fashion in the playoffs once again. Green Bay doesn’t want LaFleur, who has one year left on his contract, to enter next season as a lame-duck. The Packers can somewhat afford to play hardball with LaFleur in contract negotiations now. The organization isn’t known for paying coaches top tier money and upgrading from LaFleur to someone like John Harbaugh isn’t going to be cost-effective.

Hampton was evidently just an emergency option for the Chargers this evening. The big-bodied back, drafted 22nd overall by the Chargers, dealt with injuries in both ankles this season. He was sidelined in Weeks 6-13 after fracturing his left ankle in Week 5. He then injured his right ankle late in the season, though it is unclear when exactly it happened. The Chargers rested key starters in Week 18, Hampton among them. He rushed 124 times for 545 yards and four touchdowns, and caught 32-of-34 targets for 192 yards and one touchdown. Hampton warrants RB1 treatment entering 2026.

McConkey briefly flashed his top-tier route running abilities by selling a Patriots’ defensive back on an in-breaking fake before cutting back outside, en route to a 20-yard gain. His low target total is inexplicable, as is his status as the No. 2 wide receiver behind a 33-year-old Keenan Allen. McConkey caught 66-of-102 targets for 789 yards and six touchdowns this season. His yardage total led the team, but still falls far short of expectations after a promising 2024 rookie campaign. We give him decent odds of bouncing back next year. The talent he flashed last season is difficult to fake. McConkey can be viewed as a fantasy football WR2 for next year.

The Patriots’ pass rush pressured Herbert from start to finish. It was an unfortunately fitting end to the Chargers’ season. Herbert lost two-time Pro Bowl LT Rashawn Slater to a season-ending patellar tendon injury in August. Third-year OT Joe Alt successfully switched from right tackle to left tackle following Slater’s injury, but Alt missed time after suffering a high-ankle sprain in Week 4. He aggravated it in Week 9 and was forced to undergo season-ending surgery. Chargers backup offensive linemen suffered consequential injuries as well, leading to a career-high 54 sacks for Herbert in his age-27 season. Despite the pass-protection issues, Herbert completed 340-of-512 passes for 3,727 yards, 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, and rushed 83 times for 498 yards and two touchdowns. Both his rushing attempts and rushing yardage sums are career highs. He finishes as the QB10 in fantasy scoring and can again be treated as a mid-tier QB1 in 2026, hopefully, with improved offensive line health.

Stevenson played very well against the Chargers. The veteran running back picked up two big receiving gains by running delayed routes out of the backfield, including a blitz-beating 48-yard catch-and-run that helped set up a field goal on his team’s third drive. Stevenson also ripped off a 13-yard gain on the ground, running through an arm tackle at the line of scrimmage before barreling into two defenders beyond the first-down marker. The play helped set up TE Hunter Henry’s 28-yard touchdown. The Patriots face the winner of Monday’s game between the Texans and Steelers. Stevenson should get a reliable workload against either team, though the Texans’ elite defense makes for a tougher matchup.

All three of Henry’s receptions registered as explosive, 15-plus-yard pass plays. He impressively retained possession of the football on a corner route despite taking a hard hit from Chargers S Tony Jefferson on the Patriots’ sixth drive. He hauled in a critical 19-yard pass on 3rd-and-13, from the Patriots’ 12-yard line on the seventh drive, and scored the Patriots’ only touchdown of the day by beating Chargers S Derwin James for a 28-yard touchdown on the eighth drive, leaving James in the dust, going through his cuts on a corner route. The Patriots face the winner of the Texans-Steelers game tomorrow night.

Maye led the team in rushing, but he got the most out of RB Rhamondre Stevenson, efficiently linking up with him three times via the passing game for 75 yards. Maye was nearly on the receiving end of an explosive pass play, but rookie WR Efton Chism overthrew him, wide open, running down the right sideline. Chism made up for it with a 20-yard reception. Maye’s 37-yard scramble on the Patriots’ final drive before halftime was the longest rush of the game. He connected with TE Hunter Henry for a 28-yard, third-quarter touchdown against Chargers S Derwin James. The Patriots face the winner of the Texans-Steelers game tomorrow night. Maye’s elite fantasy upside remains intact no matter the opponent, though the Steelers field a far more fantasy-friendly defense than the Texans.

Coming off a career-best regular season scoring binge as he led all tight ends with 11 touchdown receptions, Goedert added two more after turning 31 eight days ago. Although his receiving efficiency waned somewhat in 2025, Goedert had the best season of his career when it came to making big plays. In addition to the scores, he was constantly extending drives with first down grabs. It makes him a fascinating offseason case, as he is headed to free agency after restructuring his contract last spring. With A.J. Brown seemingly on the outs in Philadelphia, perhaps Goedert actually ends up returning after he somehow avoided a 2025 trade. Wherever he ends up, Goedert seems likely to stick in the low-end TE1 ranks.

Again middling on the ground, McCaffrey was again sensational through the air, catching touchdown passes from both Brock Purdy and Jauan Jennings. The latter was a 29-yard trick play (obviously) strike that required McCaffrey to make an acrobatic grab at the goal line. McCaffrey’s rushing efficiency is in undeniable decline, but his receiving becomes even more of a Divisional Round X-factor with George Kittle (Achilles) lost for the season. We have no doubt coach Klye Shanahan will do everything he can to put CMC in position to make plays through the air.

Kittle, 32, has a long road to recovery ahead of him and could begin the 2026 season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. He would be required to miss at least four games in that scenario. The veteran tight end finished the regular season as the half-PPR TE13, having missed Weeks 2-6 with a hamstring injury and Week 17 with an ankle injury. He caught 57-of-66 targets for 628 yards and seven touchdowns. The 49ers tend to keep injury information under wraps, but Kittle’s participation level in organized team activities, training camp and the preseason should provide actionable information for late-summer drafts.